No decision on love jihad law, studying similar legislations in other states: Fadnavis

Asked if such a law is likely to be tabled before the upcoming Winter Session of the state legislature, Fadnavis said, “We have not taken any decision yet. We are studying all aspects. We are also taking this time to study similar laws in other states.”

The issue of love jihad has come up following the murder of Vasai resident Shraddha Walkar, who was allegedly killed by her live-in partner Aftab Poonawala and chopped into 35 pieces in their Delhi residence. On Friday, Shraddha’s father Vikas Walkar met Fadnavis at his official residence Sagar Bungalow in Mumbai.

State BJP MLA Nitesh Rane, in a statement to the media on Friday, claimed that the “government is bringing in a law in coming days” to prevent love jihad.

“A strong and efficient anti-conversion law or love jihad law is the need of the hour in Maharashtra. Every day, in every corner of the state, we see Hindu girls being targetted and cheated. The future is darkened by members of a specific community. The government is now bringing in a law in coming days to prevent this,” he said.

The BJP, over the last one month, has staged protests across Maharashtra, urging the Delhi Police to investigate the Love Jihad angle in the murder case. Party leader and state Minister for Women and Child Development, Mangal Prabhat Lodha, had also directed the state women commission to form a special squad to trace women who have been estranged from the families.

“Love jihad” is a term often used by right-wing activists to allege a ploy by Muslim men to lure Hindu women into religious conversion through marriage.

Many BJP-ruled states, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Gujarat, have either amended existing laws or brought new ones to curb religious conversion “by allurement, use of force, fraudulent means or coercion”.